The Advanced Water Management Centre (AWMC) at UQ is an international centre of excellence in innovative water science and technology.

The AWMC research team offers vast and complementary expertise with over 35 academic and research staff including three IWA Fellows, and more than 50 research students. AWMC has an outstanding track record of successful research, development, and application projects currently worth almost AU$10 million per annum, many in close collaboration with industry and research collaborators. AWMC partners with over 100 different utilities, industry groups, research institutions, and educational facilities around Australia and the world.

AWMC’s research achieves sustainable outcomes for the water industry through management of greenhouse gas emissions, adding value to waste treatment processes, and understanding how to protect water resources and maintain critical infrastructure.

AWMC key capabilities and expertise includes:

  • Deliver solutions for urban and industrial/agricultural water recycling and wastewater management
  • Process modelling and simulation
  • Design and implementation of water or wastewater treatment processes
  • Sewer corrosion and odour control
  • Analysis of water, wastewater, biosolids and biological samples

A key feature of the Centre’s research is the integration of microbiology into engineering-based research activities, supported by interdisciplinary expertise and innovative facilities. AWMC has excellent and well-equipped laboratory facilities that include several process laboratories, an environmental microbiology lab (PC2 level accreditation) and an Analytical Services Laboratory with a large range of advanced and relevant equipment, overseen by Senior Research Officer Dr Beatrice Keller-Lehmann.

Facilities

1. Analytical Services Laboratory

QuikChem FIA system
Figure 1. Flow Injection Analysis (FIA) is a type of chemical analysis where sample is injected into a flowing carrier stream. With the QuikChem FIA system, AWMC Analytical Services Lab can determine ionic species from sub-ppb to percent concentrations in a variety of sample types for environmental, agronomic and industrial applications.
LC-MS-MS (AB4000 QTRAP)
Figure 2. LC-MS-MS (AB4000 QTRAP)

The AWMC Analytical Services Laboratory (ASL) provides services to UQ-based- and external clients. ASL routinely analyses water quality parameters, including nutrients (ammonia, nitrate, nitrite, phosphate), Total Kjeldahl Nitrogen and total phosphorus, sulfur species (hydrogen sulfide, sulfate, thiosulfate, sulfite), anions, ethanol, methanol, and other alcohols, greenhouse gases (N2O, CH4), disinfection by-products, total organic carbon, glucose, lactic, formic, succinic and volatile fatty acids, organics, pharmaceuticals and other micropollutants, organic sulfur compounds, polyhydroxybutyrate (PHB) and polyhydroxyvalerate (PHV) and COD (chemical oxygen demand).

In addition, the ASL continuously adapts and develops new analytical methods in the area of waste, surface, drinking and industrial water in order to support our clients in their new research areas or requirements.

The Analytical Services Lab is equipped with the following instruments:

  • LC-MS-MS (AB4000 QTRAP)
  • Gas chromatograph with mass spectrometer and sulfur chemiluminescence detector (GC-MS/SCD)
  • HPLC with reflective index, photoarray and fluorescence detector
  • Three gas chromatographs with FID detectors
  • Ion chromatograph with conductivity and UV detector
  • Flow Injection Analyser
  • Inductive Coupled Plasma – Optical Emission Spectroscopy instrument (ICP-OES)